What would a 90’s revival mean?

The 90’s and a great deal of the culture and art associated with it has one of the most devoted cult followings imaginable, perhaps contested only by the golden years of rock and the boom of the psychedelics counter culture. The wave of nostalgia for the 90’s has even reached such extreme heights that people are being called out for falsely claiming to be “90’s kids” when they were actually born from the 2000’s onwards. Imagine the nerve on those phonies! It’s only natural for the entertainment industry to try and capitalize on all that heartfelt yearning after the premature cancellation of so many groundbreaking Cartoon Network shows throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s.

Samurai Jack‘s revival

…the show’s storyline revolves around the noble hero desperately trying to get back to his time after being sent forward into the future. Samurai Jack’s revival thus became the embodiment of it’s very own fictional universe.

It feels as if fate itself chose to resurrect precisely Samurai Jack first since the show’s storyline revolves around the noble hero desperately trying to get back to his time after being sent forward into the future. Samurai Jack’s revival thus became the embodiment of it’s very own fictional universe. Stories coming to life don’t get much better than this. Maybe destiny, or the entertainment industry, has a funny sense of humor.

Now, the poster of a feature film version of Biker Mice from Mars has been circulating throughout social media and has spurred on a new round of hope, and only time will tell whether it is false or not. Surely though, a film based on easily the most bad-ass cartoon ever to be made, would have all the prerequisites for becoming a major blockbuster – diverse, vibrant, and almost impossibly cool characters with unique signature traits, united by their affinity for raising hell and kicking ass. Not to mention their almost unparalleled following. What is debatable though is whether Vinnie, Throttle, and Modo would preserve their authenticity on the big screen. As much as I am tempted to find out, I’m even more scared they would turn into the complete douchebags Hollywood tends to produce by the dozen. The fact that the speculative poster has who else but Michael Bay at the helm, leads me to believe he’d drive them way past the line of banality without even looking in the rear-view mirror.

What would other 90’s remakes look like

What would an adaptation of Dexter’s Laboratory look like, especially in the eyes of a now matured, at least in age, audience? What about something darker like Courage the Cowardly Dog, or even the quirkier Cow and Chicken?

Whether or not we will get to hear the motorcycle roar of Biker Mice from Mars echoing in packed movie theaters, remains to be seen. But the fact that such a speculation can raise so much attention with nothing more than a poster propels something else as well – more questions. With such a loyal fan base of grown up 90’s kids, and so many quality 90’s cartoons being the object of their fond memories and daydreams, which one would be the next to make it back? What would an adaptation of Dexter’s Laboratory look like, especially in the eyes of a now matured, at least in age, audience? What about something darker like Courage the Cowardly Dog, or even the quirkier Cow and Chicken? Or a stoner comedy featuring lessons in the arts of seduction by the one and only Johnny Bravo? The list goes on and on, becoming overwhelming with all of the possibilities.

But the question at hand that prevails over all others, at least in my mind, isn’t which 90’s animated classic would make for the best adaptation or remake. As a 90’s kid, (born precisely in 1990 just in case anyone is questioning my credentials) I’m asking myself this – should those remakes even see the light of day in the first place? If the entertainment industry happens to tap into the 90’s cartoon universe will 90’s kids still exude the same sense of pride upon watching their dreams come true, or will Hollywood leave a large stain upon so many people’s childhoods? It surely wouldn’t be the first case of exploiting nostalgia and squeezing every bit of originality out of a classic people never got over. Member?

A very big part of those shows’ tremendous success was their exuberating originality. From the clearly defined signature traits of both heroes and villains, to the mature sense of humor that was often too subtle for kids (at least for me) to fully get…

A very big part of those shows’ tremendous success was their exuberating originality. From the clearly defined signature traits of both heroes and villains, to the mature sense of humor that was often too subtle for kids (at least for me) to fully get, to the extraordinary worlds and scenarios that played out. Some say these were all in the eye of the immature beholder, kids who didn’t know any better, but I for one strongly disagree. Now, amidst the flood of entertainment, I still like to get back to the classics every once in a while, and do so out of more than mere sentimentality. That is part of these classics’ beauty – a more developed perspective reveals their deeper, funnier and weirder nuances which were too elusive for my younger self.

Unless a remake, whatever form it might come in, manages to capture their original essence and give it a fresh spin rather than just be more bait, I’d say some things are better off left in the past.

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I think they handled the Samurai Jack revival/continuation perfectly. They fully embraced the fact that the people who loved and followed the show are much older now and in turn they made the revival much more mature in it’s tone and themes. Not to mention that it had some best animated scenes I’ve ever seen.